A man with severe intellectual disabilities missing for seven months
Found at Gangnam Station underground mall thanks to a citizen's report
Seoul Metropolitan Police Mobile Patrol Unit: "Safely returned to family"
A severely intellectually disabled person who had been missing for seven months was found by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Mobile Patrol Unit in the Gangnam Station underground shopping mall and returned to their family.
According to the police on the 18th, the Mobile Patrol Unit was patrolling the area around Gangnam Station underground shopping mall on the 5th of last month when they received a report that "a strange person who looks like a homeless person comes and stays daily inside the Meeting Plaza within the station." Upon arriving at the scene, they found a man sitting nearby with a large bag and an empty water bottle. When the police checked his identity, the man was identified as Kim, in his 30s, who had been reported missing to the Mapo Police Station in September of last year.
A missing man in his 30s with severe intellectual disabilities. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Mobile Patrol Unit
At the time of discovery, Mr. Kim showed hostile reactions to the police and tried to avoid them. However, the police continued to attempt conversation and worked to build rapport. After persuasion, Mr. Kim tearfully expressed that "during this time, I survived by either starving or eating free meals provided by a nearby church" and stated his desire to return home.
The police immediately contacted Mr. Kim's younger sibling, who was registered in the 'Missing Child Search Profiling' system, and safely handed Mr. Kim over. It was confirmed that Mr. Kim disappeared last September while his sibling briefly left the spot to park the car. Mr. Kim's sibling expressed gratitude to the police, saying, "My brother has an intellectual disability equivalent to a 1st or 2nd-grade elementary school level, so I was very worried whether he was eating properly or being exploited by bad people."
The police continue to follow up by contacting the guardian to check if Mr. Kim is adapting well and living properly. The Mobile Patrol Unit is known to have formed a consultative body with the Seoul Restart Support Center, district offices, and health centers from December last year to February this year, assisting 37 homeless people in entering support centers at locations such as the Express Bus Terminal and Jamsil Station.
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